graduation

[This year marked the first graduating class of our second campus – SLA@Beeber. I was honored and thrilled to be asked to be the keynote speaker. It’s been such an incredible experience to watch this group of students and families and educators build this school into something wonderful, and I was so excited to share the day with them. — Chris]

I cannot begin to tell you how much it means to me to be standing in front of you today. What you all have done – what you all have accomplished these past four years – will stand as a tribute to your willingness to build, to take risks, to go on a journey together – for years and years to come. Every student who follows you through the halls of your school will feel the impact of all you have done and all you have built. On behalf of all of them – I thank you. What you have accomplished is profound.

And you did not do this alone. You did this with a dedicated, passionate and caring group of educators who walked this walk with you, so please, take a moment and applaud for the incredible principal, teachers and staff of the Science Leadership Academy @ Beeber who have walked this walk with you.

And still – there were more. There were the people who stood with you, stood behind you. Cheered for you. Urged you on. Pushed you. And probably wanted to clobber you at various points of time. And many of them are here with you today. So please, graduates, take a moment to applaud and thank your families, your parents, your friends who have helped to get you to this moment of celebration today.

And now – what I want to talk to you about this afternoon is what all this means for the rest of your life. You are founders. You are builders. You are makers. And that matters. We live in a world and in a time where far too many people would rather tear down than build up. It’s easier. You know – you lived – the fact that there’s nothing perfect. You know better how whatever we build together has flaws. And so, know that those who would settle for tearing down, rather than building up, would miss the whole point.

What we build may not be perfect – but it can be beautiful.

And that’s what you did. You built something beautiful. Take a moment now… think of the experience you had together. Think about the incredible artifacts of your learning that have you created. Think of the meaning you have made in the classes and halls of the building.

What you did was beautiful.

And not just the outcomes – the process matters too – a lot, actually. It’s called “the beautiful struggle” for a reason. The hours you spent on benchmark projects – the moments of frustration – the mistakes you — and we — made along the way. All of that matters. All of that is part of the beautiful thing you created. Because the struggle informs both the thing we create and the people we become.

After all – If it were easy, everyone would do it.

And so, for the rest of your life, you know something that many others do not.

You can do it. You can build. You can make. You can create.

Whatever the challenge you face next, you know what you have already done. Whenever you are faced with the moment where the odds seem insurmountable – think of that moment back in September of 2013 when you walked into a school that had never existed before and remember that you did this. And know that you can thrive.

But it’s not just about overcoming the odds on a personal level. Your charge – your mission – as you leave high school is much greater than that. You are builders – makers. And builders make the world a better place through what they create – even when it is hard. Even when it seems impossible. Even when you aren’t even sure where to start.

Think about it – what would have happened if Mr. Johnson had never taken the leap of faith that we could start a new school? There was every reason to not do it. The School District of Philadelphia isn’t exactly the easiest place to start schools, after all. But he was willing to take a risk. He was willing to sign up for what has been an incredible – and incredibly hard – four years. And know that for all of the confidence he has had in all of you — and all of the confidence he has had in all that you have built together — that there were incredibly hard moments where we both have had to wonder if we could make it all work. But makers make, and builders build. And so Mr. Johnson has always pushed forward and pushed through and worked with all of you to create something special that will matter for generations of students to come.

And now it’s your turn.

You’re not done building. You’re not done making. You’re not done creating. You are just getting started.

Take the values and skills and care that you have learned over the past four years and build those values into everything you do next.

Build things that make others wonder and question and seek. To do that is to honor the spirit of inquiry that we live every at the SLAs.

Write the stories that make people see the world through new eyes.

Build the structures that challenge the way we interact with the world.

Create the communities where people understand what it means to truly care for one another.

In short – create the things that help us to heal, to grow, to learn. Do this in whatever communities you inhabit next. Do this because the world can’t wait for someone else to do it. Do it because you know you can. Do this because you know on a personal level how powerful it is to create something new that is a force for good in the world.

Do it because that’s what it means to pay it forward.

Do it because we need you to.

That’s what it means to be a founder. A builder. A maker.

And know that it won’t be easy. Know that there will be those who will try to tear you down. Know that there will be those who will tell you it can’t be done. Know that there will be those who will tell you it’s not worth the effort.

And, then, think of your school. Think of today. Think of all you have already built. And know that they are all wrong.

And then create it anyway. Because you can.

I stand here tonight and I look at you all, and I know that you are more than capable to meet the challenges ahead. You have all already accomplished so much, and you have only begun to scratch the surface of what you can do. And with that, I want to thank you all for building a school – for creating something that did not exist before you came – for making something that matters. And with that, congratulations to the inaugural class of the Science Leadership Academy @ Beeber – the class of 2017. I know I speak for all of your teachers, for all of your families, and for Mr. Johnson when I say, we all cannot wait to see what you do next. Congratulations!

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Ladies and gentlemen, parents and friends, teachers and honored guests, what a wonderful evening in an incredible place to celebrate the achievements of an outstanding group of young women and men, the Science Leadership Academy Class of 2016.

Thank you to our partner, The Franklin Institute, led by Chair of the Board of Trustees, Don Morel and CEO Larry Dubinsky and to our school’s liaison, Dr. Frederic Bertley. To be partnered with a cultural institution such as this one is to share a belief in the true spirit of inquiry and its continued value in our lives.

And graduates, before we celebrate all that you have done, let us also honor the work of all of those who have helped you reach this moment in time. So please, let us have a round of applause for the parents and friends and teachers and loved ones who have helped you reach this milestone in your life – and let me shout-out specifically Mr. Bey, Ms. Jonas, Mr. Latimer, Ms. Pahomov, Ms. Manuel, Ms. Martin and Mr. Kamal, the advisors who have taken care of you throughout your journey through SLA.

And parents, thank you for sharing your children with us. It has been our distinct honor and pleasure – more than we can possibly say.

On a personal note, there are a lot of people who wonder why I do two jobs – why I don’t do the district work full-time. Simply – the answer is you. The chance to be at SLA and watch you all grow – you and your younger schoolmates – is a great joy of my life, and I thank you for it.

I think it is well-known how outstanding you all are academically. The Class of 2016 represents some of the highest achievement Science Leadership Academy has ever seen in college admission – with students of to attend schools all over this country including many of the most highly competitive colleges in the nation. Perhaps more importantly, what struck all of us at SLA is how cohesive and close you came to be as a class — and how much you deeply believed in the idea of service to school and community. You all represent the best ideal of what we hope for in our graduates – fully realized citizens, ready for whatever is next, ready to make the world a better place as you have made our school a better place.

This week, we watched the underclassmen and rising seniors immerse themselves in Challenge Week projects for the first time, and I couldn’t help but think of how the cycle of school is ongoing, that those students will soon sit where you sit now, that they have learned so much from the example you all have set and I thought about the iterative process of learning that never ends and how much you have grown through that process.

It is always my hope that the four years you spend with us help you become more thoughtful, wise, passionate and kind – full of thought, with the wisdom to apply thoughts in powerful ways, with the passion to power through the times when people tell you it cannot be done, and kind… because the world needs more kindness. And let me say now, that you all embody those values powerfully and beautifully.

And as much as tonight is a signpost for you to begin what you will once you leave us, it is also a night for us to engage in that fifth SLA core value – reflection. So let us take some time to look back over the past four years, the work you have done, and the role that we have all played in each other’s lives.

Let us step back and think about all that you have done.

You have completed nearly 10,000 benchmark projects over the last four years. And at least three or four of them were completed before the night before they were due.

You have been Student Assistant Teachers in over fifty 9th, 10th and 11th grade classes, helping students in class, in our halls, on Facebook and anywhere you were needed – guaranteeing that our younger students know what it means to go to SLA.

You have spent over 20,000 hours at your Individualized Learning Programs, working at hospitals, and schools and businesses and universities all over our city.

You sent out over 900 college applications, across 250 schools, receiving over 400 acceptances and over one million dollars in scholarships.

You have set a new standard for the students of Philadelphia in debate, winning city championships, and representing our school and our city at the national championships – not once, but twice.

You have taken Rough Cut Productions further than we could have imagined, creating hours of original work, documenting 100s of hours of SLA functions, winning national recognition for your short films and creating the Rough Cut Film Festival – a week-long event that is going on this week, culminating with Monday night’s award ceremony — and I look forward to seeing many of you there.

You spent hours working on an incredible robotics team that went up against teams with more resources and a longer history, and you went further than many of those teams thought you could go.

You wrote and performed your ideas onto the world with the incredible slam poetry you created on our award-winning PYPM team.

You rebuilt Kamalot, and by that I mean Room 304, transforming that space in your image, and I am wondering… are we ever going to find a place for all that wood in the hall?

You wrote hundreds of articles for SLAMedia.org — setting a standard for on-line student journalism for high schools all over the world.

You have furthered the partnership with The Franklin Institute, working on Project SPACE, teaching 9th grade mini-classes, and meeting with Franklin Award winning scientists who are engaged in some of the most powerful work in the world.

You have run thousands of miles with Students Run Philly Style, running the Philly Marathon, the Broad Street Run, and so many Saturday morning training runs that I am tired just thinking about it.

You have played — and won — on the fields and courts of Philadelphia, never letting the lack of a gym or a home field stand in the way of your desire and ability to compete, always wearing SLA’s colors with pride and representing us with dignity even in the face of adversity.

You have spoken truth to power – rallying in the streets in support of your teachers, speaking passionately to SRC members about why this school is so important to you and standing up for the causes you believe in over and over again.

You have hosted thousands of educators from all over the world who came to see how you learn. They often came skeptical that high school students could do what you do, speak the way you speak, learn the way you learn, but to a person, they left convinced, recommitted to the idea that schools should be places where students — and learning — matter greatly.

And last week, you presented the culminating work of your time at Science Leadership Academy – your capstones. The projects were as varied as you all are. You built solar charging stations, you coached youth sports teams, you taught classes, you created original pieces of art work that will live in our school long after your days here are done, you built gorgeous pieces of furniture, you made movies, you illustrated Siddhartha — which no one had ever thought to do before… ever — you engaged in political action campaigns, you created digital scale models of the solar system, you wrote a word processor, you taught us about the broader world and the people who live in it. In short, you led, you created, you learned.

You took our core values – inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation and reflection – and applied them to your own ideas, your own passions, and in doing so, created incredible artifacts of your learning. You stood in front of your community and said, “This is the scholar – the artist – the activist – the maker – the person I have become. This is what I can do.” And in doing so, you reminded all of us of what young people can do when given the freedom and the support to dream big.

But that should come as no surprise, because it seemed like no matter where the bar was set, you all always exceeded it.

And you have done all this at a time where public education in this city remains under attack. You created all of this at a time when our state politicians see fit to turn education into a political football, not passing a state budget for months after their deadline because they would not agree to fund education equitably across our state. You did this despite funding levels in our city that are nowhere near what is spent on the children who live on the other side of City Line Avenue. And to my eyes, your accomplishments over the past four years are proof to any politician of why public education is so vital, so important. You have proven over and over again what the kids of Philadelphia can do when given the resources they need and when they are supported by teachers who care for them.

And while tonight is a night for celebration and reflection, it is also a night to look forward. You have completed one chapter of your life tonight, but it is our hope that the lessons you have learned with us propel you into whatever comes next. You are our hope now. For the parents and families and teachers gathered with you today, you represent our best chance, our best ideals, our most hopeful promise that the world tomorrow can be better than it is today.

You must remember that inquiry means asking the hard questions, not just of yourself, but of others. And you must remember that the true spirit of inquiry means never settling for the easy or trite answers, but rather seeking out those small “t” truths that will lead to new ideas and new solutions.

You must have the humility to understand that we all stand on the shoulders of giants, and your humility must lead you to research what others before you have discovered, so that you do not repeat the mistakes of the past. We need you to, after all, make new and more interesting mistakes than the ones we have made. You must keep in mind the path you have traveled, the pitfalls as well as the successes, because it is that humility, that notion that our shared humanity – our moments of frailty – that will keep us grounded in the world, in the notion that each and all of us have value.

You must remember that we are better together than we are apart and seek out collaboration. You must understand that the complexity of the challenges we face are more powerfully understand when viewed through the lens of many, not the lens of one. You have walked for four years in a community that values — and at times struggles with — the diversity of voices that make up the rich tapestry of our school and our city. We all are better for listening to each other and informing each other’s voice. That idea — of collaboration — of diversity — of coming together — is at the heart of how we will all make the world a better place.

You must continue to make your voice heard. And no, I can’t imagine that will be a problem for you all, but when you make your voice heard, remember that presentation is a two-way street. Continue to speak for the purpose of educating your listeners. Keep working to make your voices inclusive, so that others can pick up your cause, your idea, your voice, and echo and amplify it for many more. Ideas do not live in isolation. And I know that all of you will have the courage of your conviction, and the passion and voice to speak your truths to those who must hear them.

No matter busy you get, no matter how important the work you are doing is, you must remember to take the time for reflection. For it is when we reflect on our actions, on the world around us, that we can process and learn from what we have done. Never be in such a rush to do, to create, to lead, that you lose sight of the importance of listening, of stillness, of the wise counsel of others, so that you can always be thoughtful about what you have done and what you have left to do.

And, of course, make sure you remember that unspoken sixth core value – care. So many of you have spoken about how SLA is a family – granted, often a dysfunctional one – but a family nonetheless. That is because we all — adults and students alike — took the time to care for one another. It is the heart of this school, the heart of our shared values, that we must be kind. We must care. We must understand that we are better together than we are apart.

And through that ideal, all of us here have benefitted from being in a caring environment where questions like, “What do you think?,” “How do you feel?” and “What do you need?” are not admissions of weakness, but rather of strength. So know this… To listen deeply to others, to thoughtfully construct answers, and to create solutions that empower many – that is the heart of what we have tried to teach you over these four years, and as I look upon you now, I am reminded of dozens of instances where you all have taken that challenge and succeeded gloriously – beyond anything we had a right to expect from you.

And that matters, because we need you now. Much as we urged you not to simply view high school as preparation for real life, nor can you view the next stage of your life that way either. If being part of a community like ours mattered to you these last four years, then you know what you must do next. You must carry these values forward into all you do next.

The work you do, the challenges you embark upon, the causes you champion once you leave our halls matter. It won’t always be easy. There are still too many people in our world who believe that it cannot be done. There are too many people who seek not the best in people, but the worst. But you all know better. You all know what is possible – what can be done when people come to the world with wisdom and care. Simply, you are our best hope for the future. In our classes, in our hallways and on many Facebook and Twitter chats, we have discussed the challenges our world faces. The world cannot wait for you to take them on.

Because, not to put too fine a point on it, the world needs you. We were reminded of that this week, with the tragedy in Orlando where 49 people were killed because of who they chose to love. We are reminded that when we read about the base nature of the political debate in this nation. We are reminded of that every time we have to continue to fight for the civil rights of all people, working to ensure that a person’s race, gender, religion, economic status or sexual orientation is not used by others as a barrier to equity, fairness or joy.

It is undeniable – we face challenges in our schools, in our city, in our country, in our world, that will require the best from those who have the passion to create change and the skills to do it. You do not have the luxury of hoping that other people will say what must be said, do what is needed, work to make the world a better place. That is not the world we have left you. You must be smarter than we have been, more compassionate than we have been able to be, and braver than we can imagine.

But as I look upon you now, I see a group of young people more than able to rise to the challenge. You have accomplished so much in your four years with us, and it is only a beginning. On behalf of the entire SLA faculty, we are so proud of all you have done, and we cannot wait to see what you do now that you have left our halls. Congratulations to the Class of 2016. Long may you shine.

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Ladies and gentlemen, parents and friends, teachers and honored guests, what a wonderful evening in an incredible place to celebrate the achievements of an outstanding group of young women and men, the Science Leadership Academy Class of 2015.

Thank you to our partner, The Franklin Institute, led by Chair of the Board of Trustees, Don Morel and CEO Larry Dubinsky and our school’s liaison, Dr. Frederic Bertley. To be partnered with a cultural institution such as this one is to share a belief in the true spirit of inquiry and its continued value in all of our lives.

And graduates, before we celebrate all that you have done, let us also honor the work of all of those who have helped you reach this moment in time. So please, let us have a round of applause for the parents and friends and teachers and loved ones who have helped you reach this milestone in your life. And parents, thank you for sharing your children with us. It has been our distinct honor and pleasure to teach them.

As Mr. Best referenced, your time at SLA has been one of the most challenging times in the School District of Philadelphia. In your time, you have seen over one billion dollars of cuts to the district’s budget which has resulted in the closure of dozens of schools, the layoffs of thousands of teachers, the cutting of many programs, such that, you’ve never known SLA to have a librarian or extra science electives, and often, what you have known was a school that had to ask, “How can we do more with less,” as opposed to, “How can we make sure that we can do all we know we can do.” Year after year, you had to stand with your school and fight for the resources you deserved in your education – in fact, fight for your teachers’ jobs. And year after year, when we needed you, you stood with us. And in ways that humbled us in ways I cannot describe, you told us that it was because when you needed us, we were there for you.

Throughout this city, the narrative of public education in your time in high school has been one of deprivation and loss, and yet, each of you stands before us today as a shining example of the resilience and strength and brilliance of the children of Philadelphia. Each of you stand as a sharp rebuke to those who would say that the children of this city do not deserve more. Each of you can speak powerfully to what the children of this city, when supported by teachers who care for them, can achieve in their high school careers.

You, the Class of 2015, along with the teachers who have walked this walk with you, have sent a clear and powerful message to all those who would say that public education in Philadelphia is not worth funding. You have made it clear that our schools, your education… your lives matter. And it is my hope that the active, vigorous education that has been your SLA experience means that your voice for the need for a fully funded, fully realized educational experience for all our nation’s children will be heard in the halls of power in our city and beyond for years and years to come.

Because your class – more so than any class that has come before you – has made itself heard far beyond the walls of our school, into the halls of power in this city. Just recently, Dr. Hite told me that, no matter what meetings he goes to, it seems like there are students from SLA there advocating for the causes they believe in. You all have shown the adults of this city that the ideas and voices of young people can power not just the future of this city, but its present as well. You have not been willing to wait your turn to lead. You have done so now, and it is my profound hope that you will continue to do so, in our city, on college campuses across this nation, and wherever your lives may lead.

But before you go… let us engage in that last core value – reflection – one last time, and let us think about all you have accomplished in your time at SLA. You came to us four years ago as a group of individuals, with all your different elementary school experiences. You represented over sixty different schools from all over our city, and you came together to be one class – one school. And all of you shared a vision of your high school experience that believed that school could be more than what so many kids across our city and across our nation experience. It is time to think today about what that has meant… what that has looked like… and what you have done.

You have completed nearly 10,000 benchmark projects over the last four years. And at least three or four of them were completed before the night before they were due.

You have spent over 20,000 hours at your Individualized Learning Programs, working at hospitals, and schools and businesses and universities all over our city.

You have been Senior Assistant Teachers in over fifty classes, helping students in class, in our halls, on Facebook and anywhere you were needed – guaranteeing that our younger students know what it means to go to SLA.

You have taken part in Rough Cut Productions, creating some of the most polished and original films this school has ever seen, all while capturing the life of this school – including filming tonight’s graduation.

You have written dozens of articles for SLAMedia.org – creating an example of student journalism for all to see.

You have spoken out against injustice and brutality, organizing rallies and die-ins and protests and worked tireless on political campaigns, again showing our city that the easy narrative of the apathy of youth simply does not apply.

You have crafted yourselves onto the very canvas of our school, creating murals and spaces that will make us think of you and tell your stories long after you have left our walls.

You have run thousands of miles with Students Run Philly Style, running the Philly Marathon, the Broad Street Run, and so many Saturday morning training runs that I am tired just thinking about it.

You have completed engineering projects – including designing a water purification system for use in Cambodia. And I would speak in great depth about those many projects… except I don’t fully understand them well enough to explain them.

You represented SLA at the National Championships of Debate – marking the first time in history that students from the Philadelphia public schools have competed in that tournament.

You have gone further in the baseball playoffs than any team in SLA history, with a magical run through an undefeated regular season. You led a girls soccer team to Class 2A Public League Championship, beating schools that were four times the size of our school along the way. You made the playoffs in Girls Volleyball, Boys Soccer and Girls Basketball. And of course, you finished third in the state in Girls Ultimate and 11th in the state in Boys Ultimate – both higher finishes than any team in SLA history in any sport. In all, you have competed all over the fields and courts of Philadelphia, never letting the lack of a gym or a home field stand in the way of your desire and ability to compete, always wearing SLA’s colors with pride and representing us with dignity – the best of what student-athleticism can be.

You have also spent more time in the ballroom than any class in SLA’s history, and I think your senior teachers might still feel some kind of way about that.

And despite that, you have received over 400 acceptance letters to universities and colleges across this country, and you have received offers of millions of dollars of scholarship money. You will be going to 53 different schools in sixteen different states, as well as representing us in our home state as well. Your class represents the largest ever SLA incoming classes at Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh.

You have hosted thousands of educators from all over the world who came to see how you learn. They often came skeptical that high school students could do what you do, speak the way you speak, learn the way you learn, but to a person, they left convinced, recommitted to the idea that schools should be places where students — and learning — matter greatly. And barely a day goes by without an educator reaching out to me, telling me about how you all have changed how they teach, changed what the do. Your work, your passion, the example you have set has made school better for thousands of young women and men across our country.

And earlier this week, you presented the culminating work of your time at Science Leadership Academy – your capstones. The projects were as varied as you all are. You ran tournaments, you created original films, you hosted mayoral debates, you helped make science education accessible to children in Paraguay, you built a smart bee hive, you made original music, you taught other children about issues of importance and passion to you, you curated galleries of your art. In all, you took our core values – inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation and reflection – and applied them to your own ideas, your own passions, and in doing so, created incredible artifacts of your learning. You stood in front of your community and said, “This is the scholar I have become. This is what I can do.” And in doing so, you reminded all of us of what young people can do when given the freedom and the support to dream big.

And again, you have done all of this at a time when politicians are saying that the children of Philadelphia do not deserve the financial resources of the districts at border our boundaries. I believe that your work will forever stand as testimony. And it is my hope that you will continue your advocacy for all of Philadelphia’s children – if not children everywhere – to be able to engage in the kind of education we share at SLA.

Because while tonight is a night for celebration and reflection, it is also a night to be forward thinking. You have completed one chapter of your life tonight, but it is our hope that the lessons you have learned with us propel you into whatever comes next. You are our hope now. For the parents and families and teachers gathered with you today, you represent our best chance, our best ideals, our most hopeful promise that the world tomorrow can be better than it is today.

So, if you will indulge me one more time… let me leave you with some thoughts on how you may go about the profound challenge of trying to change the world… because I have no doubt that you will continue to do so.

You must remember that inquiry means asking the hard questions, not just of yourself, but of others. And you must remember that the true spirit of inquiry means never settling for the easy or trite answers, but rather seeking out those small “t” truths that will lead to new ideas and new solutions. You must remember those moments of the past four years when you challenged yourself and those around you to discover new ideas, to shed old illusions and create anew our world.

You must have the humility to understand that we all stand on the shoulders of giants, and your humility must lead you to research what others before you have discovered, so that you do not repeat the mistakes of the past. We need you to, after all, make new and more interesting mistakes than the ones we have made. You must keep in mind the path you have traveled, the pitfalls as well as the successes, because it is that humility, that notion that our shared humanity – our moments of frailty – that will keep us grounded in the world, in the notion that each and all of us have value.

And that means that you must remember that we are better together than we are apart and seek out collaboration. You must understand that the complexity of the challenges we face are more powerfully understood when viewed through the lens of many, not the lens of one. You have walked for four years in a community that values — and at times struggles with — the diversity of voices that make up the rich tapestry of our school and our city. We all are better for listening to each other and informing each other’s voice. That idea — of collaboration — of diversity — of coming together — is at the heart of how we will all make the world a better place.

And to do make the world a better place, you must continue to make your voices heard. And no, I can’t imagine that will be a problem for you all, but when you make your voice heard, remember that presentation is a two-way street. Continue to speak for the purpose of educating your listeners. Keep working to make your voices inclusive, so that others can pick up your cause, your idea, your voice, and echo and amplify it for many more. Ideas do not live in isolation. I know that all of you will have the courage of your conviction, and the passion and voice to speak your truths to those who must hear them.

And I urge you, no matter how busy you get, no matter how important the work you are doing is, you must remember to take the time for reflection. For it is when we reflect on our actions, on the world around us, that we can process and learn from what we have done. Never be in such a rush to do, to create, to lead, that you lose sight of the importance of listening, of stillness, of the wise counsel of others, so that you can always be thoughtful about what you have done and what you have left to do.

And, of course, make sure you remember that unspoken sixth core value – care. So many of you have spoken about how SLA is a family – granted, at times a dysfunctional one – but a family nonetheless. That is because we all — adults and students alike — took the time to care for one another. The hallmark of the SLA community is how often you see students and teachers caring for one another.

Because all of us here have benefitted from being in a caring environment where questions like, “What do you think?,” “How do you feel?” and “What do you need?” are not admissions of weakness, but rather of strength. So know this… To listen deeply to others, to thoughtfully construct answers, and to create solutions that empower many – that is the heart of what we have tried to teach you over these four years, and as I look upon you now, I am reminded of dozens of instances where you all have taken that challenge and succeeded gloriously.

And that matters, because we need you now. In our classes, in our hallways and on many Facebook and Twitter chats, we have discussed the challenges our world faces. And just as you never simply viewed high school as preparation for the rest of your life, nor can you view the next stage of your life that way either. The work you do, the challenges you embark upon, the causes you champion once you leave our halls matter. You are our best hope for the future, because you truly are what we hope for our SLA graduates – you are thoughtful, wise, passionate and kind. And you are — all of you — what the world needs.

We face challenges in our schools, in our city, in our country, in our world, that will require the best from those who have the passion to create change and the skills to do it. You do not have the luxury of hoping that other people will say what must be said, do what is needed, work to make the world a better place. That is not the world we have left you. You must be smarter than we have been, more compassionate than we have been able to be, and braver than we can imagine.

But as I look upon you now, I see a group of young women and men more than able to rise to that challenge. You have accomplished so much in your four years with us, and it is only a beginning. On behalf of the entire SLA faculty, we are so proud of all you have done, and we cannot wait to see what you do next. Congratulations to the Science Leadership Academy Class of 2015. Long may you shine.